Me on a longboard

I don’t even come close to the ridiculously photogenic guy, but just look at that smile! Look at it! That is true joy. I’m as happy as a corgi on stilts as the internet would say.

The photo is from a longboarding class, organized by Longboard Magazin, I went to last Monday instead of nurturing an easter food hangover at home. I went again  this Sunday, simply because the first one made me smile like that.

My first experience on a longboard was a lot sillier than that photo:

Three days ago I was such a noob at this stuff it took me longer to get home from college than it would on foot. Now it’s as quick as rollerblading (on my old skates) and getting faster. A lot faster!

Thing is, I sort of jumped into the deep end with this. @zidarsk8 just showed me how to stop, I still can’t brake, I can only stop. Sort of.

And a longboard almost killed me … four times … in a single day.

But I love it! Longboarding is the single funnest thing you can do offline. From what I hear the only thing that might possibly compare is surfing, but that comes with all sorts of costs and traveling and other silly things that I don’t really have time for.

A longboard is simple.

You step outside, you live in an asphalt jungle, and you ride like the wind. It’s even better when you go on a longboarding trip for the whole day with a bunch of other noobs and some guys who can show you how to use these things.

You’re kind of tired the next day and you might have a sore knee or two … worth it!

If you have a longboard at home, you should totally join us whenever the full day class is happening next. Well, I guess you’d also have to be from Slovenia, otherwise it might be a bit impractical.

The whole first class was caught on video, but I’m told it’s been lost to science, so here are some cool photos instead:

Road cleanup

Learning to turn tightly

Turning at speed

Yes, speed!

Wheee

First class group shot

Learning the cross-step

This happens if you skip a class and don't learn how to footbreak

Something ...

Powersliding!

The girls were naturals

Yep, naturals.

Once, only once, I managed to get up normally

Second class group shot

Related articles

• Longboard Crew (surfabike.wordpress.com)
• North Vancouver ponders what to do about longboarding (canada.com)
• Video of the day: Hawaii longboarding, Big Island and Oahu (gadling.com)
• That Girl: Longboards makes brunch a laid-back affair (pbpulse.com)
• Gandalf On Skateboard Casting ‘You Shall Not Pass’ (geekologie.com)

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